The Rhetoric Cookbook, ENG 1310.042, pt. 2

ENG 1310.042 PRESENTS:

The Rhetoric Cookbook, Pt. 2

Table of Contents Cadie Hughes, “Hi Dad, Soup”… 1 Dazzarae Lopez, “The Princess and the Frog”… 5 Maggie Lopez, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”… 13 Chase Peppard, “The Power of Food”… 20 May Priestley, “Food of Sacrifice”… 27 Alex Santos, “”… 35 Jordan Shelby, “Julie & Julia”… 40 Kaley Williams, “Krabby Patties are Addicting?”… 47 Marco Zavaleta, “Friends Rhetorical Analysis”… 52

Hi Dad, Soup By: Cadie Hughes I chose to write about the “Hi Dad” soup scene from The Goofy Movie. In the movie, Goofy and his son Max, went on a camping trip so they could bond since they were growing apart. Whenever Max was younger and closer to his father, he used to always write little phrases in his alphabet soup like "Hi Dad”, “Maxxy”, or “Bye-bye” and hand them to his dad. While they were camping, they got stranded and only had alphabet soup to eat, so Goofy told Max about when he used to write those little phrases in his soup. Before they had gotten stranded and even while they were stranded, Max and his father Goofy, had been arguing the whole trip. Max finally realized that his father was genuinely upset that they hadn’t been getting along, so after they finished the alphabet soup, Max made the tiny phrase “Hi Dad” in his soup and handed it to Goofy. In The Goofy Movie, the “Hi Dad” soup is being used to show the symbolic act of apologizing and new beginnings.

Max’s way of apologizing to his father was whenever he spelt out “Hi Dad”, and then he handed the cup with the letters in it to Goofy. Max was super quiet and he didn’t really show emotion to his dad, but this was his way of showing Goofy his apology. Goofy had been upset before the trip began and during the trip because Max was being inconsiderate and

wanted to go to a concert rather than have a good time with his father, and he made sure that Goofy knew he wasn’t having a fun time. Max could tell that his father was beginning to get more and more upset whenever Goofy was reminiscing on the past and telling Max old stories by his fathers facial expressions, sad body posture, and his upset tone in his voice.

After Max handed the “Hi Dad” Alphabet soup to his father, you could tell it made Goofy feel so many emotions, he started to cry happy tears. Max went to sleep immediately after he handed his dad the soup, but whenever he woke up they began to have a good time and they both actually apologized to each other.

I think the “Hi Dad” soup scene also symbolizes new beginnings because after Max gave his father, Goofy, the “Hi Dad” soup they began to have a better time together, and they started father and son bonding so much more. They began to compromise and do more stuff that the both of them wanted to do. They also both ended up going camping like Goofy wanted and to the concert like Max wanted, so they both got to do what they wanted but in the end, it made their father/son bond a lot more stronger because they would not have gotten to go to both if it wasn’t for Max apologizing with the alphabet soup.

Goofy and Max had a new beginning to their father/son relationship, and began to do the most together all of the time.

Even after they returned back home from their camping trip.

The importance of the “Hi Dad” scene in The Goofy Movie to me, was to show that even though you could be super close with a family member or a friend, there is always a chance that you and that person will drift apart from each other. But, there is also always the chance that even after you and that person do drift apart apart from each other, you can always regain that closeness and friendship and become closer than you’ve ever been with them before. This scene also shows me that it is so important to try and remain as close to your family member or friend as possible, without getting too tired of each other.

Whenever you feel you are getting tired of that person, you and that person should think of a way y’all can work it out before it reaches that point.

Food & Family Traditions Did someone mention F-O-O-D? I find myself daydreaming and planning my days around what I might eat next. In the environment that I was raised in, food tends to be more of an entertainment rather than a necessity. In my social bubble we plan our parties, themes, and holidays around what foods we are serving. To me, besides food being a fundamental part of good health and diet, it is a way to experience different tastes, cultures, and it is an heirloom that is passed down from generation to generation. My close Hawaiian friend recently hosted a graduation celebration in which he provided myself and others the opportunity to experience Hawaiian traditions, foods, and culture. Until May, never in my life have I had a will to taste or a craving for musubi, which is Hawaiian rice, spam, and seasoning sauce, wrapped in comparison to a sushi roll. Since then I find myself craving the salty, tangy, and distinct taste of musubi. Another friend, same occasion, celebrated her Hispanic culture by having a graduation fiesta. Living in Texas, Tex-Mex is a favorite food in my household, so naturally this fiesta was right up my alley. Enchiladas, tacos, tamales, guacamole, queso, salsa, rice and beans, they all quench my Mexican cravings.

However, I experienced a new Mexican dish called a molcajete bowl, which is a hot stone bowl served with bubbling cactus, meat and vegetables, and tortillas. This is a more authentic Mexican dish that I now have experienced and appreciate.

Before this graduation fiesta, my idea of a Mexican dessert was a sopapilla, but I was offered homemade churros and tres leches cake which opened up my tastebuds for more authentic Mexican foods and desserts.

Those were examples of how my community uses food for frivolous festivities, but in my household and my experiences, food also symbolizes nurturing, comfort, love, and bonding. For instance, whenever I’m under the weather, my mom's potato soup and crackers is comforting and made with love and care.

It indicates more than a meal; it shows her love and concern for me. Also, in our household and community, we use food as condolences when other families have a sick member of the family or death. During the holidays, it is tradition for me to deliver baked goods that my family has made to other friends and family. They say the way to a person's heart is through their belly, and we take that very seriously. Many memories have been made in fellowship sitting around the table with family for hours, eating our favorite foods and telling our favorite stories.

So you see, food is more than a necessity or a fundamental need, it symbolizes many other things. In my world, food is associated with tradition, festivities, culture, love, comfort, and family. I long for the future to share my love for food with my own family someday.

Grandma Muirhead’s Mac &Cheese Ingredient

Amount

Water

4 cups

salt

1 tsp

macaroni (large elbows)

2 cups

Evaporated milk butter velveeta cheese grated cheese salt and pepper

1.25 cup 2-3

tsp 3 oz 0.5 cup to tase

Instructions: 4 cups water 1 teaspoon salt Bring to full rolling boil and add 2 cups macaroni (I use large elbow) Boil about 7 minutes. Not completely tender at this point Drain.

Reduce heat to low and add: 1 1/4 cups milk (I use canned milk but don't have to) 2 or 3 Tablespoons butter About 3 ounces Velveeta (ounces are marked on the package) cut in chunks add any other grated cheese that you might have - about 1/2 cup. (Don't have to add this cheese but it's good) Salt and pepper to taste (It will be real soupy at this point but it needs to be. The mac will soak up the juice)

Pour into a greased 1 quart casserole. Sprinkle with your favorite grated cheese if you want to and put into a 350-degree oven and bake until bubbly.

The Princess & The Frog By: Dazzarae Lopez When having to think of an artifact that mentions and gives meaning to food in a rhetorical sense, my brain immediately thought of the Disney adaptation of The Princess and the Frog.

It has a special place in my childhood, the DVD being practically permanently stuck in the mini player of my mom's old minivan, my brothers and I watching any moment we got into her car. There were two specific scenes I wanted to mention. One of them being the scene in the introduction where Tiana, the main protagonist of the story, makes gumbo for her parents, and the other being the scene later in the film where Tiana shows Naveen, her love interest, how to cook.

In this first scene, once Tiana has made food for her family, her father smiles warmly and hugs her, claiming that “A gift this special just got to be shared.” (PATF 00:04:31) Tiana then goes out to invite her whole neighborhood to eat, some of them even offering their own food to add to the meal, all while whooping and cheering. In this scene, food is being used to show bonding and the joy that comes with serving it. The scene progresses with a shot of her whole community eating bowls of her soup with her father narrating: “You know the thing about good food? It brings people together from all walks of life. It warms them right up and puts little smiles on their faces.” (00:04:44) This scene is used to illustrate the close bond

and friendship their small neighborhood has created through food. As mentioned in an article by PriyaLiving, food gives way to a sense of community, promoting solidarity and togetherness.

To share food is to share a part of yourself and your culture. It shows nurturing and care for other people. When you are making something for someone, even if it's as simple as a small sandwich or bowl of cereal, you are showing effort in caring for them. Even though not everyone grew up with someone cooking for them, they have probably at one point or another had someone buy them food or pay for a meal. Even as adults, we still feel that sense of bashfulness when someone cooks for us or pays for our food. It’s even a classic first date move to cook for someone. The cliché isn’t just there randomly, it shows that for a long time, food has been a display of love and affection. By showing this scene, Disney is already appealing to our sense of pathos, garnering up emotions in us that anyone can relate to on their own level, regardless if we have had the same childhood as Tiana or not.

The next scene I wanted to mention highlights the way Tiana and Naveen view food, how it differs for each of them and how it eventually brings them together. The scene takes place in the

bayou, where Tiana is working on making food for the gang to eat while resting. She orders Naveen to cut some mushrooms for her gumbo, and he struggles at the mere action of slicing them. Eventually Tiana comes to help him, when he admits “[royalty] was a charmed life until the day my parents cut me off and I realized I don’t know how to do anything.”(00:56:44) For him, food didn’t mean caring or nurturing, it meant being sustained. He never learned how to do it himself, so he found himself to be useless. One of the main things parents and elders nag children about is learning how to cook before they move away. This is because being able to cook is also seen as being grown and being able to practice self-sufficiency. It means you can take care of yourself.

For Naveen, being raised with a silver spoon in his mouth, and having everything being done for him, he isn't used to the love and care that goes into making a meal the Tiana is. In a realworld sense, not everyone's parents cooked for them, having lived off of fast food and microwave meals, and these people tend to have more family issues than those without, as shown in a study by JAMA Pediatrics. Families who ate meals together were shown to have children who grew to be a lot healthier than those who didn’t. Clearly, food means something to people. It represents more than just being sustained.

Rhetorically, it means that food has the effect to promote growth, wellbeing and family ties.

We didn’t all grow up as royalty. But we can relate to the toll it has taken on Naveen as a person because of this lack of care given to him. From personal experience, throughout most

of my high school years, I have had friends who have told me they preferred coming to my house because someone was always cooking something after school. It felt “homey”, they had said. These are the people Naveen means to represent.

While my family could have represented Tiana’s, with food a constant medium and display of affection, those who didn’t grow up with this can tend to have a sense of longing and sometimes even jealousy for it. Naveen and Tiana represent opposite sides of a spectrum, which was most likely done on purpose. Tiana shows how something as simple as cooking can bring a sense of light to you and loved ones, and Naveen shows how without that, even with the luxurious clothes, jewelry, home and items, you can still be unhappy. Sometimes it is not about materialistic things, or items that cost a fortune, at the end of the day, sometimes you just want to come home to a nice warm meal. One could even argue that this was the start of the close and romantic bond that Tiana and Naveen share. From that point on, Naveen started to see Tiana as his own home. He learned from her, even going so far as to make something of his own for her when he was going to ask for her hand in marriage. When he displays his food for her, it shows his own character development and growth.

In this movie, which is very food heavy, food has a lot of implications. It represents family, growth and learning, hard work, and community. A lot of times without noticing it, food will often be the root of a plot, or be the main navigator of a story. In the Princess and the Frog, food shows us how to be a family, and how to bring others into that by teaching and being

inclusive. From the moment we see it, we understand that it is important, and as the movie progresses, each new introduction of it gives light to new symbolism and metaphors. In the simplest sense, it shows us how sharing a part of yourself through food can sometimes be the greatest symbol of love you can offer.

Part 2 When asked to write about food, there are a lot of memories that come to mind. I tried to think of one specific moment, but really and truly, there aren't many memories I have that don’t involve food. In my house, something was always cooking.

Maybe we were just fat, or bored, or maybe my dad just never stopped eating really, but it was something I had grown accustomed to. The question “what's for dinner?” was a constant demon ringing in my mom's ear. Maybe we shouldn’t have asked her so much: before school, being picked up from school, even through text messages in class when we shouldn’t have even been on our phones. It was through this assignment that I realized just how important it all was to me. With that in mind, I carefully planned everything I wanted to say and connected them through this assignment.

In my rhetorical analysis, I talked about the Princess and the Frog, and how I watched it a lot as a kid. Honestly, to this day it is one of my favorite Disney movies of all time. I admired Tiana and all she stood for: hard work, great cooking skills and a distaste for frogs. But one of the main things I liked about the movie was their show of how food brings people together. At one point in that essay, I mentioned how my friends used to want to come over to my house a lot because of the home cooked meals and the quaintness of my house. At the time, it would bother me when they talked about how “homey” and

"old fashioned” my house was. Compared to their home, a modern three-bedroom apartment, with stainless steel appliances and white walls and minimalistic furniture, my small, tan themed, brown couch, microwave-older-than-I-was house was kind of embarrassing. I used to beg my mom to replace our old beat-up fridge with a stainless steel one, the kind that ejected water and ice cubes, but my mom insisted on buying this older model that was all white. I was dejected. I wanted so badly to just have one “cool” thing in my home. I thought it would make the kitchen look so much more modern and fancier. Where my friends had an electric stove, we had a classic gas one, yes it was also white. Where they had a toaster oven and an air fryer, we had a microwave that hadn't been replaced since I was born. (Seriously, isn't that dangerous?)

For a long time, it had bothered me. Why couldn’t my mom just upgrade and fix up our house so it didn't look straight out of Little House on the Prairie? Given, that was my mom's favorite show growing up, so there was no changing her mind. It wasn’t till I was a little older, and about to leave for college that I learned to appreciate the “quaintness” of my home. I'm no good with electric stoves, and besides, the fire gives food a nice char when you're cooking, and my fridge may not be stainless steel, but at least it isn't covered in finger prints! The tan color scheme my mom picked for our house? I don’t think I’ll ever stop complaining about that one. But over all that, the greatest joy of all I think, was seeing my friends smile once they ate food my mom cooked.

I think what we’re getting from all this is that my mom is kind of a big inspiration in my life. Because of her, and the smiles on people's faces, I really wanted to learn to cook. This was long after my prepubescent rebellion. When I was younger, I’m talking late elementary to most of middle school, I didn't want to learn. I was so rooted in the stigma of Mexican girls should know how to make food for their husbands that I wanted nothing to do with the kitchen. I didn’t want to just be another woman who spent their lives cooking away and making sandwiches for someone who wasn’t home half of the time.

Sometimes I still think that way. There are days where I worry that showing off my cooking will only result in someone looking down on me or seeing me as a woman who is only good for taking care of kids and a house. It's kind of dumb to think that someone would dumb me down to that just for posting “#brownies!” on an Instagram story, but alas, the joys of being a woman.

Like I mentioned, after the I got over my fear of becoming a housewife, I began to see other benefits to learning how to cook. One of the main reasons was that I could eat really good food even while my mom worked in the summer. I also just wanted to flex on my brothers that I was a master chef, but slowly I started to pay more attention to when my mom would make dinner. I’d ask her why she did certain things or what certain spices did to our food. She picked up on my newfound interest of course, and took it upon herself to give me tasks and jobs for dinner for a while. Even if there were days I didn’t want to learn, she’d call me in to make sure I was taking mental notes of what to do. Eventually, the kitchen counter became my most

frequent place of rest. I’d sit there, and I still do, and just watch my mom move around or lean to my side to cut vegetables or mix things. There was a point where my mom would start to call me while she was at work for me to get started on making dinner. Sometimes it would be small tasks like taking chicken out of the freezer, but some days it’s be to prepare veggies or meat. I remember feeling very grown up back then.

There was a specific time that kind of changed the way I saw food that I still remember today. A friend of mine, not the same ones with the air fryer, came over to my house on a day we were both sick. It was a weekend in February in my junior year and my parents were out for the afternoon doing some side job my dad took on for some extra cash. We weren't deathly ill or anything like that, just some headaches and runny noses. I had noticed that she was looking worse than I was, and knowing that we would end up hungry in about an hour or so, I took it upon myself to start up something in the kitchen. I remember we were watching the movie Love, Rosie in my living room (she had never seen it before and I considered that to be a crime) when the food had finished. She knew I was cooking, could smell it from the sofa she was lying on, but didn’t know what. This, my friends, is where my caldo de res recipe comes from.

When it had finished cooking, I whipped up two bowls, added the rice I had also made while the soup was cooking, and served the two of us, placing her bowl on the little tray wood tables my mom has had us use for as long as I could remember.

I cut up lemons and heated up some flour tortillas we had in

the fridge, and we ate. To this day, I think that was the best caldo de res I had ever cooked. Maybe it was because it was for someone else, maybe it was because I was sick and made sure to use a bigger chile seranno for spice than usual, (which you can do as well! It really makes your nose run!) or maybe it was the smile on her face that made it so delicious to me. Whatever it was, by the next day our colds were gone and I was thanking my mother for teaching me everything she knew about cooking. Even now, when the weather is cold or on rainy days, I still get messages from that friend saying she’s thinking of me.

Knowing that a simple meal that I didn’t think twice about cooking, a recipe I knew off the top of my head and like the back of my hand, could make someone feel good and miss me on downer days was just so incredible to me.

When I moved out for college, I remember being worried about only consuming ramen for the next four years of my life.

Everyone told me that’s how it’d go down, and I was kinda bummed. For the first few months her at Texas State, I mostly ate at dining halls or whatever I could buy from Jones, but it wasn’t until I got a stomach flu that I missed my moms food so bad. I don’t remember what it was I ate, but something didn’t sit right and I ended up really ill. I was bedridden for days and I remember crying because I wanted nothing more than that caldo de res. Of course I couldn’t exactly go and make some, but once I was well enough to walk around, I took a trip to HEB to get some actual food for myself. I know all this might not seem to have correlation, but when I went into that HEB by myself, it felt like I was really and truly on my own. A grocery store made me feel grown up. It’s kinda stupid to say, but as I

walked each aisle and saw all the snacks, it made me want to buy everything I couldn’t have whenever my mom would take me. I think that’s the impact learning to cook helped me get. It made me feel like I was ready to go out and fend for myself.

Knowing I could buy whatever I wanted from there and be able to whip something up in a kitchen was riveting. It made me want to buy everything. Of course I didn’t, I still ended up with microwaveable meals and canned chicken noodle soup, but the trip inspired me to start using the kitchen in my dorm hall as often as I could.

All in all, for me, food is the root of all my good memories. It means a lot to me. It reminds me of some of the happiest moments of my life and some of the most nostalgic feelings as well. Without even realizing it, most of us have created specific bonds over certain meals that cause us joy. Comfort foods exist for a reason after all. Food is more than just something to eat when you’re bored or a means of sustaining yourself. Food is home. Food is friends and family and gatherings with loved ones of all ages. I think that because of how big a role it played in my home, I was able to feel more loved and cared for. Even now as I come home for winter break, I cherish every meal. I smile every time I ask my mom what she’s making for dinner. I smile as I make lunch for my little brother to eat, teaching him slowly, step by step, while my mom and dad are off at work. I smile as I remember each recipe, each direction all off the top of my head, and I thank my mom in a small prayer. “Thank God,” I say, “thank God for food.”

Caldo De Res Ingredient

Amount

For Caldo: Water Celery stalks onion

3.5 Liters 2 1/2

tomatoes

2

serrano

1 whole

cilantro

1 bunch

cabbage Carrots Chicken Knorr Cubes

2

beef (soup bone)

2 pounds

lemon and salt

to taste

For Rice: White Rice

1.5 cups

Vegetable Oil Tomato Knorr Cubes Water

2

Instructions:

2. Once rice has become golden, lower heat and put three cups of water into pan. Be careful! It will sizzle and smoke because of the oil, so if you have a vent in your stove, use it!

For Caldo:

3. Once the water is in, place in two Chicken Tomato Knorr cubes, squashing them with your spoon if necessary, and make sure they’ve dissolved into the water. Stop mixing here! If you mix too much, the rice will become soggy and mushy. Cover with a lid and let it cook for 10-15 minutes or until water has evaporated.

1. Fill a medium sized soup pot halfway through with water, place beef inside until half way cooked for around 20-30 minutes depending on size.

2. Drain water from pot, leaving the beef inside, and refill with 3.5 liters of water. You may take the meat out and cut it into smaller pieces at this point but it is not necessary.

3. Cut tomatoes, celery, half onion, cilantro, carrots and ¼ small cabbage to bite size pieces and place in two Chicken Tomato Knorr cubes. Cut small chile seranno in half and place both pieces in the pot. Mix until Knorr is dissolved and let cook for an hour and a half, checking flavor and adding salt to taste as you go.

4. Its ready! Serve with Mexican rice and lemon for best effect. Enjoy!

For Rice: 1. Get medium sized, deep fry pan and put in around one to two tablespoons of vegetable oil. Place in rice, let it become covered with the oil and let it brown. Feel free to move it around and stir so it becomes evenly colored.

4. If rice is not soft yet, add more water! If not, rice is done!

My Big Fat Greek Wedding By: Maggie Lopez Food means many different things to many different people around the world. In the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding there is a scene where Toula (the main character who is marrying Ian) is on the phone with her mom Maria talking about the dinner they are about to have with her fiancé Ian’s parents. Maria is talking about what she should make for this dinner and in the scene you see a table full of a potatoes onions, peppers, lettuces and four chickens that she is preparing for tonight. Toula asks her mom why she is preparing all this food when it’s just four people eating, and Maria says she may have invited the whole family. Toula freaks out because Greek families are typically very large and knows that Ian’s family will be overwhelmed. Later when Ian’s family gets there they see all of Toula’s family which is about thirty people and when Ian’s parents finally meet Maria (Toula’s mom) and Ian’s mom hands her a Bundt cake as a gift for having them over as guest. In My Big Fat Greek Wedding, food is being used to show the symbolic act of accepting someone into your family and culture as well as an act of kindness and thanks.

Making someone food that is part of your culture can be act of love and acceptance into ones family. In the Greek culture food is large part of family gatherings and culture especially when the food is for a wedding. In an article by Weebly called

“Religious and Social Meaning of Food" it talks about what food means in terms of marriage and “At weddings, sugared Jordan almonds are given as gifts to guarantee sweetness in the marriage” (Religious and Social Meaning of Food). The role that food plays in the Greek culture is largely important role especially when it comes to marriage. In Greek tradition chocolate covered almonds are handed out in little bags to every guest because of the deeper meaning that they hold.

The almonds basic layer in a way almost represent life and the base layer of the almond is meant to represent the bitterness in life. The reason that the almonds are layered with a layer of candy, kind of like peanut M&Ms, is because candy is sweet and its supposed to show how life can be bitter but with your significant other and their love it makes life sweeter. This is supposed to signify that the bride and grooms life together will be sweet rather than bitter. In My Big Fat Greek Wedding you see Aunt Voula talking to Ian’s parents and she sits them on the couch and talks to them about how they are now part of the family. She tells them a story about this lump in the back of her throat but at the end they bring up a plate of Spanakopita and Aunt Voula goes “Spanakopita you hungry?” This is important because it shows you again how in the Greek tradition when you are trying to show your acceptance of someone into your

family you cook and offer them foods from your culture that are important to you. Foods meaning in Greek tradition goes far beyond the idea of just common curtesy and cooking for your guest the food itself is act love.

Food is often given to people as a gift to show appreciation and doing that can actually strengthen the bond between people. When Ian’s parents arrived at Toula’s house for dinner they brought a chocolate Bundt cake and gave it to Maria as a gift. This gift was much more than just a cake it symbolized a token of appreciation for having them over for dinner. Scientist in 2014 conducted a study (it involved 2,415 employees from 10 countries who spoke seven different languages) in the workplace to show how “Recognition" frequency also plays a role. For those who say they receive some form of appreciation more than once a month, 82% describe a strong bond with their bosses. When that occurrence drops to less than once a month, only 63% feel those strong ties (Josh Hrala). This is important because it shows you how doing something as little giving a cake or showing some appreciation can actually boost someone’s loyalty towards you. By giving someone a home cooked cake it can also show the person receiving the cake that you took the time out of your day to make that cake just for them signifying their importance to you. Showing appreciation is very important in relationships to maintain a strong bond and doing something as little as giving them a cake can symbolize your appreciation and that you care about them.

All in all food was used as an act of acceptance and as an act of appreciation in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Food is

very important in many cultures not just because it is a part of your culture but because of the importance a certain dish or meal can mean to one family. Recopies are passed down for generations in families and your grandma takes the time to teach your mom and your mom takes the time to teach and then you are expected to teach your children how to make it that recipe. This is because the recipe has been in the family for years and represents your roots and where you come from. By passing it down for generations it stays in the family and gives you a sense of your cultural identity. Having the knowledge about how your ancestors who started your family and went through hardships to get to your family to where there are now is very special and personal. The powerful sense of connection one gets from cooking this meal that your family long ago was also making helps families stay connected to where they come from even though it was before your time. When cooking that recipe for someone else not only are you showing them a part of who you are, you are allowing them to become a part of your life. It shows that you care about them and accept them because you are taking the time to cook a meal that has great importance to you, and it shows them that you welcome them into your life and who you are. There is famous quote by Thomas Keller about food and it says, “Food is such an important part of our lives, and sometimes we tend to diminish the importance of that, because we rely on conveniences or because our lives are so complicated. We forget about those moments that we can actually share around the table with our family, with our friends, with our loved ones.”

What Does Food Mean to You? Food by definition according to the dictionary means "any nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink or that plants absorb in order to maintain life and growth.” Food is much more than simple word, it’s a word that holds so much meaning to it for many people. Food is such is such a broad word that holds so many different things under its umbrella.

Food is not just tangible object you out in your mouth for survival but it’s meal you eat with loved ones or people you care about. Yes, food is something that everyone needs for survival and to stay healthy, but it is also something we cook with family and friends, it is something that people make as job to serve to other people on special occasions and outings, and it is something that means a lot in my family on both side of the tree. Food has multiple meanings to my family but are different on my mom’s side of the family and my dad’s side of the family.

On my mom’s side of the family it’s all about tradition and the recipes passed on for generations, while on my dad’s side yes recipes are passed on but with my dad’s side food is the one thing that brings a very large family that is spread it all to one place.

On my mom’s side of the family food is all about the traditional Greek culture and the recipes that our family pass on and teach

for generations. In Greece is custom to eat breakfast and then a big lunch from around 2:00 to 3:00pm. Then dinner is later at 7:30 to 8:30pm and it’s not that big maybe a salad with some kind of meet or protein. The food in Greece is very Mediterranean like they are big on healthier, cleaner meals than the United States. Whenever I go and visit Greece I tend to get my favorite meal which is calamari and nice Greek salad on the side which contains cucumbers, tomato, feta, and olive oil. Greek olive oil is actually some of the best olive oil ever whenever I come home it makes me sad because I miss the amazing quality of Greek olive oil. On special occasions are like Easter which is very big in the Greek culture we make lamb which is seasoned with a nice lemon and herbs on it and that's a very important meal all in the Greek religion the lamb Is supposed to represent a pureness. we also have a tradition which my family does every year on New Year’s which is the baking of a cake it's is simple vanilla cake no icing just the cake and when baking it you put a quarter in it. After the cake is done you start cutting slices and whoever is the person with the quarter in their cake is supposed to have a lucky year and have good things coming for them. When cutting the cake you cut it in this order and it starts off with God, Jesus, Mary, then a piece of cake for the house, the head of the household which is my father, my mom, myself, my younger sister, and my two dogs Dakota and Dax. Ironically the year that I actually won the quarter in my cake I ended up tearing my ACL and it wasn't a very good year. The recipes that are very important and have been passed out for many years in my family robot but the two which are my favorite are pastitsio and this special twist on spaghetti and meatballs. Pastitsio is kind of like a lasagna but

the base layer is a layer of noodles with a paste on them that holds them together and then above that is a layer of beef that is grounded up and soaked in a tomato sauce for flavoring.

Then on top is another layer of pasta and a ton of cheese making the final top layer which covers the whole dish. This dish is one that my grandma or in Greek Yai taught my mom to make and over the break after doing this project for class I decided to ask my mom to finally teach me how to make this dish. The other dis that I already know how to make is a pasta with red sauce and the ground beef. It looks like regular spaghetti and meatballs but actually has a twist to it because of the ingredients of that my family has put in it for generations.

So what you do is you have regular Angel hair pasta, and you cook that and put it into a tomato sauce but in the tomato sauce the special ingredient is Are you ready cinnamon. Now i know it sounds weird that someone would put cinnamon in pasta but it's actually very very good and eating regular spaghetti and meatballs now just taste weird to me because it's not how I learned that the typical spaghetti and meatballs usually taste due to the splash of cinnamon. Food is something that can connect families from generations that they were never even able to meet but it still allows them to feel close to People they never even met.

On my dad side of the family food is not just a meal or recipe passed down for generations it is something that brings my whole family together. My dad's side of the family is very big he grew up with six sisters and two brothers so as you can imagine our family is very large. My dad was born in New Jersey and that is where my grandparents and some of the rest of the

family live. There are also people living in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington, and Florida. this makes it very hard for the family too get together a lot but when we do it's usually on occasions where there will be a plethora of food. My favorite occasion of 1 the family comes together is definitely Thanksgiving in Virginia. I remember one Thanksgiving we drove from Georgia to Virginia very early in the morning so that we could surprise our family for Thanksgiving. When we got there everyone was so shocked and happy that we could finally make a Thanksgiving because being so far away from Virginia we typically only go to the big Thanksgiving dinner every three years. After we got there it was late, so we caught up and then decided to go to bed. The next morning when I woke up I immediately smelled sausage, bacon, pancakes, eggs, sweet coffee, and the sweet sound of the family that I missed so much. When I walked in the kitchen there was an assortment of food and it was so nice to eat breakfast and catch up with my family. Later my sister and I had been obsessed with making these friendship bracelets so during the day while football was on and everybody was showing at the house we made a plan.

We were trying to friendship bracelets for as many people as we could so the family could have matching bracelets. Once everyone got there we all got together took some pictures and finally said let's feast. The food was amazing I waited eagerly online from my favorite dish my aunt said these Mac and cheese which takes 3 hours to make. There were options of Turkey, collard greens, yams, rice, stuffing, sweet potatoes, some amazing Mac and cheese, and some mashed potatoes.

We all dug in and laughed at funny jokes and stories that other family members told, and it was one of the best Thanksgiving

ever. Unfortunately it was the last Thanksgiving that would have with my dear cousin Matthew and that is why this Thanksgiving means so much to me because food brought us together for one last Thanksgiving as a family. There is something special about this Thanksgiving that made me remember it the most and it was because of the great food that brought my whole family together. Another very special time was the 4th of July 2 years ago where my whole family gathered for my grandpa's 98th birthday. We flew in just for the night for the sole reason we could spend time with our family and eat good food. This time was so important because it was the last time then I saw my cousin Matthew. He recently passed away in November dude kids here that he had been fighting for a while now.

Matthew was the most kindhearted, sweet, funny, loving person in the world and because food and celebration brought us together for one last time I get to hold an amazing memory of him. We had some barbeque some Mac and cheese like we always do at her family gatherings we were swimming in the pool, dancing, playing games, listening to music, and just enjoying the company have family in great food. This time also was actually the second time, but I've never seen my grandpa because he lives in Washington and unfortunately him and my father don't have a good relationship. The celebration of his birthday was an important time and I'm glad that I got to spend it there with him and family. As you can see food on my father's side of the family is not just about tradition and recipes book more of something that brings the whole family together when it's hard to because of distance. without food I wouldn't have been able to see my cousin one last time and for that I will forever be thankful.

All in all food is not just necessity that we need to survive society food has many different things that it does for us. For example bringing family together, connecting family to past generations call mom providing people with jobs, and being there in times of need. Rachel Ray has a quote about food that I like and I think explains the meaning of food for me and that quote is “Food is a great communicator, connecting generations and helping build memories in friendships, and gathers us together and teaches us the importance of sharing no just food but ourselves.†Food is important because not only does it bring us together and help keep your dishes but it's a part of the cultural identity. Every culture has custom foods custom traditions custom items are important to their culture. Just like how I was talking about custom dishes in the Greek culture there are many other different custom dishes in other cultures that make it their own. Knowing recipes they're part of my Greek culture and Jamaican culture allow me to express who I am and show foods the important to me and who I am as a person. Without food we wouldn't be able to show off who we are and show people who we are by allowing us to make dishes are important to our culture in our identities it makes it easy to be who we are as people and be proud of our cultural identity.

Greek Pastitsio Ingredient uncooked penne pasta

Amount 3.5 cups

salt

to taste

Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil Grated Parmesan

3 tbsp

For Meat Sauce: Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 tbsp

yellow onion, large, chopped

1

lean ground beef garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

1.5 lbs 3

salt

to taste

red wine, such as merlot

0.5 cup

Can of Crushed Tomatoes

28 oz

dried bay leaves ground allspice cinnamon ground nutmeg sugar

2 0.75 tsp 0.5 tsp 0.25 tsp 1 pinch

For Bechamel: Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/3 cup + 2 tbsp

all-purpose flour

0.666666666666667 cup to taste

salt 2% milk, warmed

4 cups

large eggs

2

Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 2. Cook the pasta to al dente according to package instructions. Be sure to add salt and olive oil to the boiling water. Drain and transfer pasta to 9 ½" x 13" baking pan. While still hot, drizzle pasta with a little more extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle grated Parmesan. Toss to combine. Set aside for now.

3. Make the meat sauce. In a large pan or skillet like this one, heat olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Saute onions until just golden, then add lean beef and garlic. Season with salt. Cook until meat is fully browned, tossing regularly and breaking up the meat with your wooden spoon (about 8 to 10 minutes). Carefully drain any excess liquid and return pan to heat. Add wine, crushed tomato, bay leaves, spices and pinch of sugar. Mix to combine. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then lower heat and let simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or so. Taste and adjust salt to your liking.

4. While the meat sauce is cooking, prepare the bechamel. In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Stir in flour, salt and pepper.

Cook until golden (if needed, added a little more olive oil).

Gradually add the warmed milk, whisking continuously.

Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, until smooth and thick. Add nutmeg.

5. In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of the hot bechamel mixture with the 2 eggs in a small bowl. Then return all to the pan with the remaining bechamel mixture. Continue to stir or whisk the mixture bringing to a gentle boil for just 2 more minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Remove from heat and allow to cool and thicken a little more (you should have a creamy, thick and smooth bechamel sauce).

6. Assemble the pastitsio. Top the cooked pasta with the meat sauce; smooth with a wooden spoon to fully cover the pasta.

Now top the meat sauce with the bechamel topping. Again, smooth with your wooden spoon to cover the meat sauce evenly 7. Bake the pastitsio in 350 degrees F heated-oven for 1 hour until golden brown. Remove from heat and set aside for 10 minutes before serving. Cut into square pieces and serve.

The Power of Food By: Chase Peppard The article explains that in a world emerging and thriving on new technologies, including food delivery services, humanity’s schedules have become more 24/7 than ever before, resulting in the decrease in “companion meals” (Positive News, 2018).

One chef has decided to change that, however. While she does not have the money to open up an actual restaurant, she decided to open up one in her home. Named a “supper club” (Positive News, 2018) guests are invited to join others (whom they have not met) and make conversation while eating a variety of tasty cuisine. Her goal was to create an environment where people are forced to talk to one another, instead of keeping to oneself, furthermore creating a human connection between people who had never met. She quickly became successful, and continues to operate out of her home. The article continues on how food can change perception. A simple meal can change the way a person thinks or feels. For example, a young Derek Black (whose father was a grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan), reconsidered and changed his views after a group of college students invited him to a Shabbat dinner. His views were completely altered because of a shared meal with his peers, where he could have a conversation with conflicting viewpoints, which ultimately changed his. From the beginning of recorded history, food is the one aspect of human life that remains consistent; every human needs food and nutrition, a

way to fuel their body. This aspect of human life is what connects society. The ability to connect and create relationships has always derived from the use of food; from family dinners, to dates, to pre game meals, it all connects through the use of a meal.

Food has always played a role in companionship. A simple meal can make a bad day just a little bit better. For instance, Meals On Wheels in a nonprofit organization that provides meals for people in need. On Thanksgiving, as well as other holidays, hundreds of volunteers take to the road delivering meals to people who cannot afford to buy them. The relationship begins at the very moment the front door opens.

The recipient sees the food and a smiling face, and cannot help but do the same. They smile, they give hugs, they jump around with joy. Combined with the spirit of giving and charity, these meals create experiences and relationships that open new doors which lead to the unification of all social classes.

As mentioned before, since the beginning of time, food and meals have been used to symbolize unity. In pop culture, history, and in literature, examples of this have been shown.

From the Last Supper, to King Arthur and The Round Table, and for the lack of a better example, the birthday dinner scene from

the movie Step Brothers, all of these symbolize meaning and purpose. They all play an important role. It may play a major role in the development of a plot in a movie or book, a major biblical scene, or one of the most illustrated images in all of literature. All of these have a skeletal structure, with a group meal at its center.

To fall back on the article, the author mentions Elahe Reza, an immigrant from Iran (Positive News, 2018), was nervous to talk to new people when she moved. When she was given the ability to cook food with other people, she became able to express herself and connect with other people. Reza goes on to say “Now I feel a lot more confident, even though I still make mistakes, I don’t have the words to tell you everything that is in my heart – about the cooking, the new friends, my new skills – everything.” (Positive News, 2018). This is just another example of how food allows people to step out of their comfort zones in order to connect with others. A meal allows for a variety of subjects to be discussed, allowing for all people who are involved to share their viewpoints, and listen to their peers in order to create connections and similarities.

Although food has universal meaning, its impacts various groups of people in different ways. Its impact is world wide, because food, and nutrition for that matter, is a main component in the functionality of the world itself. Without food, we would starve, if we starve, we die. if we die, humanity goes extinct. Therefore, if humanity goes extinct, there is no longer evolution, or natural selection, or technological advancement.

However, food has an impact on not just evolution and life itself. A simple meal could be the difference between war and

peace. Peace Treaties and surrenders happen over a meal.

Without this form of connection, the world would be pillaged and eventually, we would all die. On another note, meals are universal. Holidays, birthdays, special events, weddings, funerals; all of these take place with a meal somewhere involved. Holidays would not be the same without a symbolic meal. Birthdays would not be the same without a special birthday dinner of the birthday person’s choice. Family and friends come together to not only celebrate these events, but to connect with each other. They catch up, learn more about one another, tell funny stories, jokes, all of the above. It is not just the food that makes it special, but it is the food, and sharing of a meal, that ties everything together. It is almost like a balance. If the food is good, conversation will be mostly positive. However, if the food is overcooked, or maybe not as well done as one would like, conversation and mood of the evening might make a negative turn.

In conclusion, food has a wide variety of uses. From nourishment, to discussion, and ultimately connection, all of these contribute to its meaning and significance. So, why talk about it? Why? That’s the question. In a world like we live in today, where we are isolated from one another, food brings us together. Having a Thanksgiving meal with family via Zoom was just as good as the real thing, because it is not Zoom which makes it possible, it is the food. Having meals allows for conversation, allows for compromise, all of which help to better the social environment, and connect those involved. That is why food is so much more than the ingredients, and the recipe.

This is the greater meaning.

Part II Food has always been a large part of society. It brings people together, like I’ve said before. It connects people. It can fix problems, minimize social and cultural boundaries, and create an equal and non-judgmental environment.

I have a lot of significant memories when it comes to food. They range from team dinners, to post game dinners, to pregame dinners, to road trips, birthday meals, all of the above. I am not going to explain all of them, but here’s a couple that stand out.

Team dinners. I have played hockey since I could walk. I never really bonded and had tons of friends at school, because they did not play hockey. They did not understand someone who liked the cold, who liked ice. Public service announcement: now that the stars went to the Stanley cup finals and almost won the championship, they ALL hopped on the bandwagon.

Before, they told me hockey was not a sport, how it didn’t matter. I told them to wait a couple years. I was right. Now, back to my main point; friends, teammates. I never bonded with kids at school the way I did with my teammates. My teammates were my brothers. Inseparable. I remember a time when I was between the ages of 12-15. Every Friday night we had practice.

After practice, our moms and dads would take us to this one small pizza pasta place down the street. EVERY FRIDAY. It became routine. A way of life. Part of the schedule. Every Friday we would order the same thing. I would order two slices of

cheese with a side of ranch and a Dr Pepper. My buddy Blake would order a slice of cheese and a slice of sausage and cheese, with a root beer. Lastly, my buddy Michael would order the same thing as me. EVERY SINGLE TIME. We were inseparable, the three amigos. The legion of doom as our parents called us. We weren’t just best friends on the ice, but brothers. We scored a combined 700 points in our time playing together (4 years). We set league records, won championships.

To this day we all believe it was because of that Friday night ritual. We would go to the Pizza place, eat our meal, go back to the rink and watch our dads play in their late Friday night adult league game. It was like clockwork.

After we all grew up and started playing high school hockey, we kind of went our separate ways. We still go to that pizza place once a month, get the same things, talk about the same stuff. I told you; inseparable. On my high school hockey team, we would have actual team meals. We would go to a restaurant, or go over to someone’s house, and have dinner before our games. We would talk about a wide variety of subjects, most of them explicit. We’d joke around, push each other’s buttons, get under each other’s skin. Then we would go out on the ice and play our hearts out. The team meals brought us together, not as a team, but as a family. Our chemistry became stronger, and we won two straight state championships. BACK TO BACK. This would not have happened if our team meals did not exist. They were the main factor in our success.

Before quarantine, we were able to have large family dinners.

We were able to go visit family in different states, but we

cannot now. One of my best memories with food or a meal probably takes place in Gainesville Georgia. My Great Grandmother. She is a fantastic cook, and any chance I get to cook with her I’m going to take. There was one time I remember distinctly where she and I drove her golf cart down the street to the store to go get ingredients. We bought them, then drove back on the golf cart. We were making her famous chicken and dumplings. It is quite literally the best thing I have ever eaten. HANDS DOWN. My grandmother (her daughter) claims that she can make it as good as Nanny does, but I've been the judge of that. Nanny (my great grandmother) beats her every single time. This meal, going out to buy the food, standing in the kitchen and cooking it, and finally eating it, it's a process, a long one. It pays off. When it is finished, we invite our other family who lives down the street (my uncle, aunt and cousin) and we all eat together. This meal connects all of us. I guess that’s why they call it comfort food.

When I go up to Canada, we have a couple traditions too with my family up there. After we land in Montreal, my uncle and cousin pick us up, and we go to a Tim Horton’s just outside the airport. This is every single time we go up there. I’m not sure why we do it, but it's become customary. It is just a coffee place, but it means a lot more than just that. It is the first time we connect in person with family in person in a couple years, so the best way to do that is with a small meal. When we are in Canada, we see every member of my family. We usually go to my Uncle Rick’s house in Ottawa, Ontario, and everyone meets us there because my Auntie Pam makes the best food in all of Canada. They live on a golf course, so when the parents are cooking, all the kids would go out on the course and throw a

football or play hide and seek. After the food is ready, we would all sit down at the table, or on the floor, and eat. We would tell funny stories, stories from our parents’ childhoods, funny and stupid things my Uncle Rick has done in the past, that kind of thing. After the meal, we make bets on how fast my Uncle Rick will fall asleep on the couch, and after he falls asleep, we usually make more bets on how many red solo cups we can put on him without him noticing. This is another one of our traditions. It does not mean anything without the food involved.

A long time ago, we used to have a huge family Christmas party. There would be about 20-25 people at my grandmother's house, and we would make a huge dinner, and then after we would open presents. The dinner would consist of a huge turkey or two, potatoes, cranberries, green beans, sweet potato casserole, basically anything that you can think of.

This was the one time of year that we were all together. We would start a family football game in the backyard, and of course, my family would win, mostly because my little brother is extremely fast and I would block for him, then, my grandpa, before he passed away, would bring me on a ride in his 1946 MG car. It was awesome. When I got older, he taught me how to drive it. I never got the chance to bring him out on it though, which is sad, but it’s the memories like that that I cherish and will remember and will hopefully get to tell my kids one day.

So, in conclusion, food means a great amount to my family. It gave us the ability to connect with everyone, even if there was drama or a family dispute, food seemed to always settle it.

Food always made everything better. Food was an important

part of my childhood. It supported friendships and traditions, like the pizza restaurant. It brought my team together, like at team meals. Ultimately, without these meals, I’m not sure what my childhood would have been like. It definitely would not have been as eventful as it was.

Chicken and Dumplings Recipe serves 4

Ingredient

Amount

For Broth: Chicken (cut into pieces)

1 whole

white onion

1 whole

Large carrots

3 whole

celery

3 whole stocks

chicken broth

8 cups

salt and pepper bay leaf or touch of poultry seasoning

as you see fit 1

For Dumplings: All Purpose flour shortening baking powder

1.75 cups 0.333333333333333 cups 0.5 tsp

milk

0.75 cups

salt

0.5 tsp

cornstarch

4 tbsp

Parsley (chopped)

1 bunch

Instructions: For Broth: 1.

Combine the chicken, onion, carrots and celery in a large pot.

2.

Season it how you like it

3.

Add the chicken broth. Let it boil, then turn down the heat, and simmer covered 45 minutes to one hour or until the chicken is tender.

4.

Remove chicken and vegetables from broth.

5.

Discard skin and bones and chop remaining chicken, set aside.

6.

Gently add dumplings to broth. Simmer 15-20 minutes or until tender.

7.

Stir chicken into broth, cook about 2-3 minutes until heated through.

8.

Garnish with whatever you like (I use salt and pepper, a little bit of thyme and rosemary, and BOOM, PERFECTION) For dumpings:

9. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and shortening with a fork until shortening is mixed in.

10. Add milk a little at a time and mix until completely combined 11. toss dough a few times on a floured surface until the dough is smooth (no lumps) 12. Roll the dough into lumps the size of what you want your dumplings to be 13.Add to the broth 14.Cook in broth NOW.... EAT!!!

Food of Sacrifice By: May Priestley The intricate traditions of Chinese culture are demonstrated in Amy Tan’s novel, The Joy luck club, specifically An-Mei’s memory from her childhood when her mother comes back home to nurse her grandmother on her deathbed. She distinctly remembers the night before her Grandmother, Popo’s death, when her mother made the magic soup. She pinpoints this as the moment she truly came to love her mother and finally be able to establish a relationship and opinion of her.

Honoring your elders, especially your parents, is very important in Chinese culture. So, when she was making the soup, AnMei’s mother literally cut a piece of her arm into the soup as way to show how deeply devoted she was to Popo. She wanted to share in Popo’s pain and somehow, also take her pain away and give her strength to move on. In The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan, the author uses the Theory of Hospitality to demonstrate how food is used to show the symbolic act of love between a mother and daughter by literally cutting a piece of herself into her mother’s last meal as a final sacrifice before she dies.

The theory of hospitality plays an important part in An-Mei’s, Mother’s actions when she comes home after finding out about Popo’s illness. Sean Barnette describes the theory of hospitality as “An ecology of objects and practices involved in offering

guests space, shelter, food, and other materials. These objects and practices allow hospitality to do rhetoric work” (112). In this case, her mother came home and took it upon herself to cook dinner and take care of Popo even though she is not at her own home. Popo’s home was like an extension of her own home because she had lived there before An-Mei’s father had died.

She already knew the inner workings of the house and how Popo’s preferred certain things done. This emphasizes the close relationship they had formed long before and the betrayal Popo felt when she left. Since Popo was too ill to work around the house and just ill in general, she needed to be taken care of. Therefore An-Mei’s mother stepped up and took that responsibility just like Popo did for An-Mei’s many years before.

An-Mei had a few memories of her mother from her childhood but this one stood out to her in particular because it contradicted all the negative stories Popo had told her about her mom prior. The exigence is that An-Mei was never able to form a relationship with her mother before, but now was able to form a real-life opinion of her in a loving perspective. She states that she had always loved the mother in her dreams but was finally able to love her in real life. When she was young, her mother left the family and Popo saw her as a disgrace to the

family. This is a large part of the Chinese culture described throughout the novel that An-Mei is constantly coming to new terms with. When her mother came back, she was unwelcomed, especially by Popo. However, she was able to show Popo that even with their time apart from each other, she still loved and valued their relationship. The author uses the word “shou" to describe how a daughter honors her mother, “it is shou so deep it is in your bones” (Tan). Tan uses this language to emphasize the mother’s act of cutting into her flesh like it is nothing. She doesn’t display any pain because she knows Popo is in much more pain and hers cannot compare. Therefore, in making her soup she takes a piece of her own body which is healthy and painless. Then feeds it to Popo as a way to give her strength when she needs it most.

The author uses Pathos to emotionally appeal to the audience through the mother’s actions of cutting a part of her arm and putting it into her mother’s soup as a sacrifice. An-Mei was called into her grandmother’s room as a sign of respect for her as she was dying. As she entered the room, she saw her mother cooking a soup of herbs and medicines for Popo. Then, what took An-Mei aback was when she saw her mother take out a knife and cut into her arm. She put a piece of herself in the soup and fed it to Popo. The soup itself is a sign of sickness because it is primarily associated with what sick people eat.

Then when An-Mei’s mother cut her skin she acted in sacrifice for her mother because she believed she still had the chance to be healed. An-Mei describes her mother’s actions as, “she cooked magic in the ancient tradition to try to cure her mother this one last step” (Tan). The author’s language refocuses the

narrative back to An-Mei’s young age and associates it with her family’s Chinese traditions and beliefs. She was at the age where it was still appropriate to naively believe in magic. This is something most of the audience can relate and empathize with because they were once the same age as well.

The audience initially seems to be mothers and daughters because this scene is specifically of An-Mei, her mother, and her grandmother. So, Tan was most obviously reaching for her female viewers and appealing to the different relationships between mothers and daughters. Which may be challenging at times, but I think for majority of people, family and especially in the Chinese culture depicted in this novel is for life. An-Mei’s mother left her when she was young just as her father died because she believed she would be better off with Popo. Then she came back to take care of Popo because they also had a loving relationship at one point and she still cared about her.

Therefore, I also think the relationship between An-Mei’s mother and grandmother can appeal to anyone who has had a close family member with an illness or even died from one. In the novel the characters happen to both be female, but anyone can have a complicated relationship with their parents and friends. Then when they an unfortunate event occurs or someone is sick, you reflect on your relationship and decide what to do from there. I this case An-Mei’s mother came back home to honor her mother’s life.

The power of love and self-sacrifice is very important within this scene and An-Mei’s mother was able to convey her devotion to Popo by cutting a piece of herself into the soup. She would not

have been able to pass on her strength and health to Popo without being able to feed it to her like in ancient Chinese traditions. The implications were that even with all the effort she put into the soup, Popo would still pass away. Then An-Mei would hate her mother for not being able to save Popo.

However, Popo did pass away that night, but it brought the family closer together. An-Mei was able to come to love her mother even more than before. When she saw her mother cut into her arm without a second thought, she started to understand the meaning of love for family. That when you love someone so much, you become numb to your own pain because the thought of them hurting is so much more painful.

I Could Really Go for Some Baklava Food has always played an especially important part of my life.

I can’t remember a time where food didn’t mean coming together with friends and family or learning something new about someone’s culture. I can’t be more thankful for the environment and neighborhood I grew up in because it’s taught me to branch out of my culinary comfort zone. My parents also stressed an importance of trying new things. They both had international jobs that took them places all over the world like, Mexico, China, South Korea, Italy, France, Turkey, Dubai, even Saudi Arabia, and so many more places I can’t list.

Of course, they were away a lot when I was a kid but sometimes, I was able to go along with them. Therefore, I got the chance to try some interesting food too. I think a person’s taste in food says a lot about them, but I have learned that if you aren’t willing to try foreign foods then honestly what’s the point in traveling. Food is one of the easiest ways to immerse yourself in another culture. I love how in every language and culture, food has almost the same meaning and intention.

I’m actually born and adopted from China, so I was able to bond with my family over hotel food when they first got me.

That is a weird concept, but I truly believe food can bring people closer together. Now, this wasn’t just any hotel food

since we were in China. My parents decided to stay at a very nice hotel when they adopted me because I would be out of my regular environment and with new people. I don’t actually remember this, but my mom has this adorable picture of my sister and I sitting on the fluffy king size bed with the biggest smiles on our faces. We were wearing matching pajamas and eating shrimp dumplings like the happiest children on earth.

My sister. Martha is five years older than me so building a relationship with each other was going to be hard in the first place. However, I think sharing those dumplings in bed when we were so little prefaced our love for food. Which we were able to bond over and to this day my sister and I still share dumplings with each other.

When I was old enough to go to school my parents send me to a catholic private school called St. Anne where I was taught to appreciate all cultures. We had an event called international day where each grade performed a dance from a certain country for the whole school. Then after all the performances each grade had their own after party where everyone brought in a homemade dish with a recipe from that country.

International day consisted of months of practice and it was this huge show of dancing with matching costumes from the country you represent. Before the big show each grade put together a slide show and activities in their classrooms about their country. Then each grade would rotate turns at each country to learn about their different customs and traditions.

This taught me at a young age that everyone comes from a different background and that it’s important to be different. It’s not fun or interesting to visit a country with traditions similar to

the U.S. and honestly, it was so much better learning about a country with crazy traditions. Of course, my favorite part was the after party! The school I went to had grades PreK 3 through 8th grade, so sitting through the long International day ceremony and every classes performance as a kid was the worst. The food was like this incentive I knew was coming but at the very end. I also had friends in other grades, so I was able to sneak into their party and grab some food from another country. I remember this one year, a girl brought baklava and I thought it was the best thing I had ever eaten. I had become obsessed and unfortunately my mom had no clue where to buy it. At this age I would never had imagined all the travel I would do in the future and all the foods I would be able to try.

When I was in middle school my family went London and Paris for a family vacation. However, I think I was just too young to appreciate both cultures and the meaning behind their food. In high school my mom finally took me to Mexico like I had been begging her for years. She does a lot of work with Mexican businesses and at one point to was going there at least once a month for a year. I was so jealous of all the goodies she brought back and the cool pictures of the colorful moving desserts she would get at this fancy restaurant. We finally went together, once with just us and once with my sister. We climbed pyramids, went shopping, went to art exhibits, swam in cenotes which are underground caves filled with gorgeous clear blue water and ate the most amazing food. My Junior year of high school I went on my schools Europe trip to London, Belgium and France. We first flew to London and then took a bus to all our other destinations which enabled us to stop in different

towns along the way. I distinctly remember the Belgian waffles we had in Bruges that I still dream about. We also visited the smallest chocolate factory in Belgium which was literally the shop itself with this huge machine blocked off by a glass wall we couldn’t enter. It was by far the best chocolate I’d ever had.

When we stopped in Paris, I realized that they really weren’t as westernized as London was and most of the food was French. It was hard to differentiate the types of cafes, but the food was always great. Since I went to a Catholic high school, we stopped at what felt like every cathedral possible in every town we passed. One day we went to the Sacre-Coeur Basilica which is on top of this huge hill with one of the best views of Paris.

However, they made us climb the stairs from the bottom to top.

Now, you know it’s a long walk up when they offer a ski lift like, elevator option for those who don’t want to walk. We just weren’t allowed to use it. After we visited the Basilica, out tour guide took us to an “authentic French restaurant”which really felt like a kid friendly restaurant and the only one that could seat all thirty of us. Even though it was quite loud and busy, they made up for it in food. I never thought that I would say I liked snails, but the escargot was the best meal I had on that trip. It was served with a delicious pesto butter sauce and we used these small tong like thing to hold the huge snail shell and a cute little fork to eat the snail. That is an experience I will never forget.

Now a more sentimental memory I have involving food is the block Christmas parties my neighbors had when I was younger and still have today. It was a festive occasion to get to know new neighbors and become friends with one another. There

were also a lot of children on the block, so I had a lot of friends and one of my neighbors always dressed up as Santa. The older you grew; it was like this big secret not to tell the younger kids that Santa was just our neighbor Elmer in a costume.

Anyway, everyone in the neighborhood would try and stop by the Christmas party and for those of us who attended every year, we were in charge of the food. My dad would make some kind of elaborate dish that was always gone by the end of the night and my mom would make a dessert. Since it is a Christmas party you can never have enough dessert especially with all the kids running around. I think food is a way to share with other people and show that we love them and appreciate them in our lives especially around the holidays. It is so memorable and intimate to share a meal with someone and being able to share food with all the people I had when I was younger helped me grow into an understanding person.Â

Mangia, Mangia! Spaghetti Sauce Ingredient

Amount

Ground beef

5 lbs

28 oz. cans of tomatoes

5

large head of garlic minced/chopped

1

medium yellow onions, minced

2

green bell peppers, chopped

3

salt

to taste

pepper

to taste

oregano

to taste

Glen Muir Fire roasted diced tomatoes

Instructions: 1. Mince and saute garlic, then add to large pot.

2. Saute chopped onions, onions will become translucent, then add to large pot.

3. Saute green bell peppers, peppers will turn bright green, then add to large pot.

4. Brown ground beef— salt and pepper. Keep beef juice, then add beef and juice to large pot.

5. Drain juice from canned tomatoes and put aside.

6. Add tomatoes to large pot.

7. Add tomato juice as needed, add oregano.

8. Stir ingredients thoroughly.

9. Cook on low heat for 4—6 hours, stirring often.

10.Add salt and pepper as needed.

[Title of Analysis] By: Alex Santos The artifact I chose for my rhetorical analysis is lyrics from the song “Chicken Fried”. The lyrics I chose go “You know I like my chicken fried, cold beer on a Friday night, a pair of jeans that fit just right, and the radio on”. In the music video Zac Brown (artist) is shown climbing into his jeep while singing these lyrics, then the camera pans to a little kid running down what seems an old country road. Yet, in this music video and lyric, food is being used to show the symbolic act of appreciating the little things in life. The music video itself uses a lot of ethos; the video gets to your emotions. Through put this lyric and the whole song it talks about chicken fried because it’s probably one of the most common American dishes, say you’re with your family during the holidays most of the time chicken fried is being served or say it’s just a family get together, you and the family are just chilling eating chicken fried having a good time and making memories. I think the song and this lyric do its best to tell the audience to appreciate the little things in life because they always won’t be there.

The artist that continues to play country music has been raised in the Southeast of Texas. Growing up he has inherited country food all his life. He includes his heritage in his music because it’s a big part of his ego and he’d like to show his fans and family the type of person he has become.

In America, the southern meal “Chicken Fried” has become so popular that it has spread throughout the entire United States and even different parts of the world being served in 5-star restaurants and hotels. When I listen to this song and hear chicken fried being used, I think of it as something patriotic.

When the artist sings “You know I like my chicken fried, cold beer on a Friday night” I see that as him saying that’s the “American Dream”.

I Love Food What is food? Food is one of the most basic life recourses a human need to live. Without the nutrients food gives us to fuel our body’s we could only survive about twoto three weeks without it, but to me food is much more than just something that I eat to survive. Food is one of the most important things in my culture, being Cuban American, most of my family lives in Cuba .It’s hard not being able to see my family whenever I want, I can’t just hop on a plane and go to Cuba whenever I want. My Grandma who lives with my family at our house knows that sometimes I get upset because I miss the family in Cuba so every night, she always prepares dinner Cuban style. She knows I love eating Cuban food and that its one of my favorite things. MyGrandma hates cooking, its one of her least favorite activities to do but she still cooks every night for me. To her its much more than just the food, she loves and cares about me, so she does anything in her power to makes sure I’m happy and not upset. My Grandmas meals are my favorite part of the day, they never fail to bring me joy.

I have hundreds of memories about food and different meals but my favorite and most memorable memory by far was this one time in Cuba when I was 13. I remember I was in Cuba over the summer, my parents had sent me and my brother to spend to whole simmer vacation with our family in Cuba. In Cuba they have what’s called crab season, this is when

thousands of crabs are migrating all over the islands and hunting for them is super easy. Me and my brother had been woken up one day by one of my cousins, he was excited to show us something so me and my brother jumped up out of bed and followed him. He had taken us to the front yard where we encountered this huge crab, this thing was huge, its claws were the size of my hands and its legs were super long.As me and my brother stared at the crab is shock my cousin told us all about crab season and how these crabs were migrating everywhere, so he told us to get ready put on some boots because we were going hunting. Me and my brother were super excited, so we ran inside got ready in about five minutes and ran right back outside to my cousin. My cousin handed us the huge sacks to carry the crabs we catch and we began our journey to the mountains where the crabs were migrating, after a good two hours of hiking we had spotted our first batch of crabs, I was left speechless seeing way over100 crabs. My cousin quietly told us that on the count of three we were going to sprint at the crabs and catch as many as we can before they run back into their holes. My cousin counted down “one..., two..., and three… go go go!”We sprinted towards the crabs and started going crazy, I was catching one crab after another throwing them in to my sack. After a good five minutes of chasing around crabs we had caught all the crabs we were able to catch before they had run into their holes. Me, my brother, and my cousin had gathered around to see how many crabs we had caught. My cousin asked me if that was fun and with all the adrenaline rushing inside, I yelled yes. We continued searching for crabs all throughout the mountains all day, after we had all filled up our sacks, we had begun to head home. We had

walked a good ten miles from home, so we spent a good amount of time walking back. We arrived home right before sunset to my whole family siting out of the front lawn waiting for us. At first, we thought that we were screwed because we had taken off without asking for permission, but I noticed that they were all smiling, and they didn’t look mad. We walked thru the front gate onto the lawn and we dropped our sacks, my aunt had asked where we went and my cousin told them that we had went hunting for crabs, instead of grounding us my aunt told us she was glad we went to go hunt because that’s what we were going to have for dinner that night. I remember being so happy because no one was mad, and they were all happy that we had fun that day. We dumped all the crabs into this huge pot and started cooking them, as we waited for the crabs to be done we played dominos and cards and it was blast, to finish off the night we had ate all the crab and they were the most delicious things I have eaten.

Concluding this story, I have to say this is one memory I will never forget, it was one of the most fun days of my life. Food is so much more to me than just sitting down and eating it. Don’t get me wrong— I love to eat food, it’s probably one of my favorite things to do— but I like what comes with food. The memories that come with eating food with friends and family.

Cuban Flan Ingredient

Amount

eggs

5

condensed milk

1 can

vanilla extract

2 tbsp

Instructions: 1.

Beat the eggs until mix thoroughly

2.

Then add the condensed milk and evaporated milk

3.

Beat at medium speed until mix completely

4.

While mixing add the vanilla

5.

Oven at 400 degrees

6.

Fill large pan with inch of water

7.

Then add the flan to smaller pan

8.

Then place flan container inside larger pan with water inside oven

9.

Bake 1 hour

Julie & Julia By: Jordan Shelby The movie Julie & Julia Is about two women set in two different times, the mid 1900’s and early 2000’s. It covers Julia Childs and a woman named Julie who lives in Queens, New York who decides to blog her journey over a year recreating over 500 of Julia Childs famous recipes.

In Julie & Julia, food is being used to show the symbolic act of coping in the fact that their lives were not what they wanted them to be. They movie really appeals to pathos, in the way of appealing to people’s sympathy for others. As well as their desire for food. It distracts from the other problems the characters face in the movie.

In a scene in the movie, you will see that Julia Childs is reading a letter in her kitchen with her husband. The letter is from her sister, it says that her sister is pregnant. In that moment Julia acts like she is happy for her sister, but she breaks down crying and her husband arms because she cannot have children of her own this is one of the many things that cooking distracts her from. Julie and her husband live in Queens over a pizza place and she absolutely miserable there because they live in a small apartment. She also works in the insurance industry and has to deal with sad, depressing claims every day. Julie decides she needs to do something for herself, so she decides to start

her blog and the challenge of finishing the over 500 Julia Childs recipes in a year to distract her from her misery and pain.

Julie’s blog takes off and she has become somewhat of a food influencer per se. She gains followers and they send her things for cooking. Till one day her husband is sick of her and her fame. He leaves her, and you know the first thing she does? She goes out and gets ingredients and starts cooking another recipe. This scene is just another example of how she runs to food for coping.

Julia Child meets with her editors to get her cookbook published and they said it was American housewives and that its too big and they wouldn’t publish it. After that this is the one time she doesn’t turn to food, she says “well they hate the book and coking started out as just so I had something to do, now what?”

Julia Child has to move from Germany, out of Europe, out of the area she loves, where she learned to cook back to the United States. She is seen unpacking her dishes first and setting up to cook something before she got the news that another editor would publish her book. She might not of

cooked this time, but she did resort to it to make her feel better before good news.

Another editor gets her hands-on Julia Childs cookbook, and she cooks one of the recipes, she does this because she gets home and she is upset about something, this is just another example about how a character is using food as a coping mechanism.

Towards the end of the movie Julie finds out that Julia Child does not like her and thinks that her quest to finish all her recipes is unthoughtful. In that moment Julie is absolutely crushed, the women she looks up most to in life has just said she didn’t like Julies work, the work that she dedicated to Julia child herself. After this she decides to cook the one last recipe she has left while she’s cooking this recipe, she has a strange sense of clarity she realizes that she doesn’t need cooking to have meaning and purpose in life. She should be happy with the life that she was given. She also becomes very grateful for all the opportunities she now has because of the blog. Julie finally realizes the big picture that yeah, she would’ve loved Julia Childs approval, but it isn’t the end of the world if she doesn’t approve.

The importance of food in this movie is that it gives comfort to Julie and Julia their lives revolve around food and what it’s done for them. Julia got her cookbook, and she may or may not be one of the most famous cooks in history. Julie on the other hand her story didn’t end like she wanted to she thought she was going to have Julia’s approval and that she become a big hit. Well, she did become a hit, she didn’t know what to do

after finishing all of the recipes. She realizes that she shouldn’t have relied on food to be a crutch in her life she even mentioned how she was gaining so much weight and not working out because of it. In the end both of the women realized they got what they wanted.

The Food in My Life I have two different perspectives on food, one for my mother side and one on my father side. My parents are divorced so I always have two of everything. So, I get to experience besides my family and the food that they grew up making. The food on both sides of my family shows where my family is from. I consider myself lucky because of this I get to experience two different cultures and two different traditions every year.

I’ll start talking about my mom side of the family. I provided a recipe that is from her side, it’s an English recipe because that’s where most of my family is from on my mother side. My great grandma migrated to the US to go to college and that’s where she met my Great grandpa, she decided to stay in marry him, when she became a permanent resident of the United States her mother as a goodbye gift sent her off with entire cookbook of family recipes. One of them being Yorkshire pudding or as my family calls them popovers. Popovers are like muffins that melt in your mouth, they’re so good but my family refuses to make them anytime but Christmas. My mom says it’s against family tradition and we cannot break our family tradition. I provided pop over recipe and instructions, and this is the first time anyone in the family has ever let someone who’s not in the family have the recipe. It was practically like yanking teeth to get them to give it to me. The reason this recipe is so

important to my family is because it’s the one recipe my family has always continued to make for as long as the entire family can remember.

I have a memory of the first time I remember trying popovers with my family, I was like six or seven years old and we were all sitting around the table and everyone was staring at me because they knew this would be the first time, I could truly appreciate a popover. As soon as I took a bite Yorkshire pudding melted in my mouth and then I understood what the big deal was. Because as a child they would always make a big deal about cooking the popovers they were the last thing to be cooked on Christmas Day, and the first thing to be eaten when they were sat on the table. The popovers were food, but they also were a symbol in my family. It pretty much meant that how crappy the year and how crappy our situation was that we would still be thankful and happy that we were family when we ate those pop overs.

Another memory I have of them it’s pretty funny and this happened only a couple years ago when we’re having Christmas at my house, first my aunt blew out our microwave because she accidentally left it going without anything inside of it for 30 minutes. Next my mom accidentally burnt the roast, so all we had to eat the year with ham. Then finally the cherry on top to the disasters that are happening in our kitchen where is my mom left the popovers in the oven too long so not only did, we burn the popovers, but we also set off pretty much every smoke alarm in our house. But unlike the roast my mother was determined that we would have popovers. It was

the tradition, but we didn’t have any more ingredients for popovers and most stores are closed because it was Christmas day so like any human would my mom went and asked the lady next-door. Luckily, they were kind of friends and she didn’t have any Family, so she was home. Not only did my mom get the ingredients for the pop over but she also invited the lady over to spend Christmas with us. So, the popovers essentially made someone’s Christmas because this is the first year that she was spending a Christmas alone because her last family member who was her twin sister passed away only weeks before Christmas. This memory of popovers is why I think they are so important to our family they keep us together and they bring joy to other people they aren’t just a food but their symbol that our family stands for.

No on my dad side it’s a whole different story we don’t do traditional turkey on Thanksgiving and ham and roast on Christmas. On my dad side all of his family is from a country called Guyana. It’s a small country right above Brazil. My grandmother migrated here right after she graduated high school in Trinidad, Trinidad is a tiny island south of the Caribbean. So not only does my grandmother have all these traditions and recipes and foods from Guyana where she was born but she also has them from Trinidad where she was raised.

So, for Christmas we have curry and on Thanksgiving we have duck. As long as I can remember my family has always told me that it’s OK to have a different culture and that just because I’m white doesn’t mean that I have different traditions in a different culture from other white people. So, when people asked what I did for Thanksgiving and what I did for Christmas and I didn’t

give the traditional white people answer I got stares and I got told I was lying for attention. It’s been that way my whole life and I’ve just learned to except the fact that some people don’t understand that they’re different cultures even though you’re white.

The dish that comes to mind when I think of my dad’s side of the family is a dish my family calls Chicken Palau It’s a dish my grandma brought with her from Trinidad, and it’s made with rice, beans, chile peppers, and chicken. My family always told me I was eating it before I could walk or talk, and honestly, I believe them. My grandma specifically makes chicken Palau for when I come home from college and when I want just a homecooked meal on my birthday honestly, it’s like our special occasion dish because everyone in the family loves it. When my stepbrother comes to visit when he’s Home from New Jersey that’s the dish that we make it’s just like the dish that says I love you and I’m glad you’re here in my opinion. My dad side the family is even more food oriented my moms, oh you're sad here I'll make you food oh you'e happy I’ll make you food oh you got a good grade on a test or a good grade on your report card here I’ll make you food. It’s not like other families or it’s like oh good job or you get like a small little congratulatory gift you get food and not my family I’m not complaining I absolutely love my family’s food I could nonstop eat it if I had an endless stomach. And my grandma has nonstop dishes that she makes but I have my top three I love her cornbread I love her chicken Palau and I love her spaghetti. And she knows when to make them she makes cornbread at Christmas and Thanksgiving she makes chicken Palau for special occasions and she makes

spaghetti whenever I ask for it. When I am really close and when the reasons were so Close is because we always cook together. We bake, and we cook food during Thanksgiving and Christmas together that’s our job. So, we just understand each other, and we have a relationship no one else in my family has.

Because when it comes to my family food is their way of showing emotion and I love my family and I love that they do that, but I also don’t like the fact that I don’t like to show emotion in other ways but that's a different problem.

The most specific memory I have of my family coping with food it’s been my great grandmother died four years ago. We drove to Florida and buried her ashes and then after we buried her ashes, we got together with our entire family extend it to. And everyone just made dishes and cooked and ate and talked we had so much leftover food my cousin, whose house we were at didn't have enough space in her three fridges to put all the leftovers. But the one that I really remember it was my Great grandma’s favorite it was my grandma’s twist to shepherd’s pie.

It’s pretty much shepherd’s pie but it’s really freaking spicy. That was the only dish that there were no leftovers because it was an unspoken thing that every family member needed to have at least one slice as our final goodbye to my great grandma and to be honest I haven’t seen anyone in my family make it since that day and it’s been four years. On my dad side food is so important and I never want to change that because food has made me the person a.m. my grandma has taught me to always put love into your food and I will continue to teach my kids and I want to teach my grandkids that food is a part of us

and that it is a part of our family and that we should always cherish our family and the time we have with them.

My two families and the way they celebrate and use food to celebrate and use food in our everyday life are completely different. But I get the best of both worlds and I’m so grateful for that. I wouldn’t have the perspective I do on the world and life and family if it wasn’t for the way my family made food and the way my family treated no traditions that food revolves around. I am so grateful for what my family has taught me and I’m so grateful for what the food itself has taught me. I will always cherish the memories and the family and the food that I have right in front of me. Because I know that I am very lucky to have so much food and so many blessings in my life so I will never take advantage of it. So I know this is an essay about what food has done for me and how do I celebrate it but I just want to say thank you to my family and friends elders and mentors for teaching me what food can do in everyday life and not food might be food but it has a way bigger meaning than just food to eat.

Popovers/Yorkshire Pudding Ingredient

Amount

eggs

3

milk

1 cup

flour, sifted

1 cup

salt

1/4-1/2

tsp

Unsalted butter, 1 tbsp melted, 2 chilled, cut into pieces

3 tbsp

popover pan

1

Instructions: 1.

Combine eggs, salt, and sifted flour.

2.

Add water slowly and beat mixture vigorously with a whisk.

3.

Add milk until smooth and bubbly.

4.

Cut butter into small pieces and put one piece in each well of the popover pan and place in oven for 2 minutes.

5.

Fill each well half full and bake at 425 F for 20 min., then reduce to 375 F and bake for another 15-20 min.

6.

Makes 12 popovers.

Krabby Patties are Addicting?

By: Kaley Williams My artifact is kraby patties from SpongeBob, and you may be asking yourself why would you do kraby patties? well let me tell you why. if you have ever in your life watched SpongeBob, you probably have at least one episode stuck inside your memory. and what do you most remember when thinking about SpongeBob? KRABY PATTIES! a lot of the episodes are based off of kraby patties, while some are not. an example of an episode using kraby patties as a symbolic representation is the episode where squid wars eats as many kraby patties as he can while no one is looking because he doesn’t want people to see. squidward has always been an odd character in the popular series. he’s portrayed as a cranky squid who doesn’t like SpongeBob, patrick.. or really anyone in the show. The episode where squidward eats all of the kraby patties is a pretty big breakthrough in the show, in my opinion. The show starts off with SpongeBob basically “cremating” a kraby patty. Jumping to the point, squidward dreams about the kraby patties and then realizes he has got to try one of them. Squidward makes his way to the patty vault and then sees SpongeBob. Squidward tries to pretend he’s not about to try a kraby patty until he breaks and yells out that he loves kraby patties. When squidward continues to scarf down the delicious burgers, he

eats way too many and basically blows up. I feel like the kraby patty represents addiction in a way. Squidward pretends to not like them, while secretly loving them. Then he proceeds to sneak out to go get one, as you would if you were addicted to something. Squidward then admits it and eats way too many, because he simply can’t stop. This results in the paramedics having to arrive and send him to the hospital, as one would if they had an addiction. While all of that was happening, SpongeBob was trying to get squidward to stop, because he knew it wasn’t going to be good for him. After the paramedics come, the paramedic says that he remembers his first kraby patty, which implies that the same thing may or may not have happened to him.

In the hit series, SpongeBob SquarePants, squidward is faced with the dilemma of pretending to not like kraby patties when he secretly loves them. Things get way too out of hand and squidward blows up due to eating too many. This represents addiction because of all of the reasons listed above. Squidward obviously loses self-control, as most do when trying a kraby patty for the first time. With that being said, kraby patties represent addiction.

Part 2 Every day I wake up and honestly, the first thing I think about is “what am I going to eat?”. It’s probably weird to the nonbreakfast lovers, but I love all meals. My favorite meal is definitely when I make homemade ramen. I make egg noodles and stretch them till thin and extremely long. Then I make a broth using beef broth, pork shoulder, ginger, scallions, garlic, and many more seasonings. I leave that broth on the stove for at least 6 hours to soak up each and every one of those flavors so we can really taste the depth of it. I then boil a couple of eggs and slice them in half. Then you basically mix it all together and you get a delicious ramen, for way cheaper than a restaurant but way better than the 20 cent ramen you buy at Walmart. As you may guess from that recipe, I cook a ton. My favorite thing to do when I’m stressed is to cook. It’s a very good quality to have especially when in college. Most students go out and buy innout or McDonald’s, or even just cook up some pasta and put butter on it, but if you really think about it; it’s cheaper to make things at home than to go out and buy three meals a day. When purchasing ingredients for meals you’re going to make at home, you normally purchase more than the recipe calls for, which means you’ll have enough product left to make an additional meal. Since you do have those ingredients left over, you could also use your imagination to come up with new things to cook so that you produce no waste.

Ever since I could remember, food has been a huge part of my life. I know it’s not normal to have a mother who cooks every night, but my mom was one of those people who did cook every night. She didn’t really know how to make anything but she was constantly experimenting with flavors and combinations and eventually she became really good and it caused her cooking to get better and better. I wouldn’t say that my mom taught me to cook but she was a big part of it. I constantly was in the kitchen watching her cook and saw all of the elements that she put into dishes but she never said out loud what she was putting into her food. After watching her make amazing food for years, I felt like I could be really good at cooking. Even though I felt that way, my mom never let me cook using her ingredients and I was only 13 so I didn’t really have money to buy my own, so I never cooked. When I turned 18 and moved out of my house and into my apartment with one of my now best friends, I cook almost every night. I’ve made fried mac and cheese balls, Thai soup, homemade spaghetti, noodles, dumplings, soups, and many more things.

My favorite thing to cook is probably deserts. I love baking cookies, cakes and other pastries. I would say that baking and cooking is one of the most healthy ways I deal with my built up stress. Although I’m young and it seems like I don’t really know what I am doing, I really thing I do know what I am doing since vie been experiencing home-cooked meals for almost my entire life. The food I make honestly makes me so happy. I feel like after I have cooked, that I have achieved something in my life. I have never been good at sports (I actually went viral on vine for tripping over a hurdle but that’s beside the point) so when I figured out that I was good at something that meant

something to me, it made me really happy. Along with baking deserts, making tamales is always a fun experience for me. My mom makes the filing and I assemble the tamales, masa filling and then steaming. It always takes us about 20 hours to get done with all of our tamales, but that’s probably because we make like 300 of them.

Considering I have always been in love with food, there are still some days that I forget to eat or I just don’t feel like eating because nothing sounds appetizing. When this happens it honestly makes me so sad because I feel like I could make some pretty bomb meals with what my mind creates. Speaking of my mind creating things, I love love love crockpot meals. I know everyone criticizes them because they can be mushy and have the consistency of baby food , but I think that’s just because no one knows how to cook correctly with a crock pot.

My favorite meal in the crock pot is kind of like beef stroganoff but with chicken instead, it’s just chicken breasts, cream of mushroom and chicken broth on high for 6 hours and then served over egg noodles, it’s so good. Along with dinner, I love appetizers in it as well. Queso, ugh so good. Although I was just expressing my love for the crock pot, it reminded me of the kitchen aid ice cream maker. If you never used it or even never heard of it I would be surprised. Imagine making up your own flavors of ice cream and being able to eat it whenever you want. Sounds good doesn’t it?

Although I love to make easy and quick meals, I also like making food that takes days, like cinnamon rolls. I made homemade cinnamon rolls about a month ago and it was one

of my favorite things ive ever made. Its basically a normal yeast dough, then letting it rise for hours and hours and then rolling it out, placing the cinnamon sugar, then allowing it to rest again before baking it. After talking about what food and cooking means to me for so long, I think you’re picking up what I’m throwing down. Food is at the top of my priority list and it is one of the most important things to me. It helps me relax and thing and then enjoy a delicious meal afterwards.

Lady & the Tramp Spaghetti & Meatballs Ingredient

Amount

Olive oil

1.5 tbsp

white onion, diced

0.5 cup

garlic cloves, minced tomato paste

2 2.5 tbsp

16 oz can crushed tomatoes

1

16 oz can diced tomatoes

1

8 oz can tomato sauce

2

white sugar

1 tbsp

red pepper flakes

1 tsp

butter

1 tbsp

pepper

0.5 tbsp

garlic powder

2 tsp

onion powder

2 tsp

Instructions: 1. dice up the onion and garlic and place it in a bowl 2. in a large sauce pan place your tomato sauce, tomato paste, as well as your crushed tomatoes into the sauce pan.

3. let the sauces simmer and then add in seasonings, sugar, onion, and garlic 4. let sauce simmer for about an hour Meatballs:

• 1 pound ground beef (80/20) • ¼ to ½ cup of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs • 1 teaspoon salt

2. Roll out multiple balls

• 1 teaspoon pepper

3. Place on baking sheet and bake meatballs at 350 in the oven for 30 minutes

• 1 teaspoon onion powder • 1 teaspoon garlic powder • 1 large egg • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1. Mix together all the ingredients and mix with hands

4. Take out meatballs and place in the sauce for about ½ an hour Boil noodles, place sauce and meatballs on the noodles and then enjoy!

Friends Rhetorical Analysis By: Marco Zavaleta Vera For my artifact I chose an episode from the show Friends, from season 3 episode 9 "The One with the Football." The episode is set on Thanksgiving Day in Monica’s apartment, and it starts off with the ladies preparing dinner for the night as the guys sit on the couch watching a game of football. During the halftime show of the game Ross and Monica reveal that they have had issues in the past when it comes to football, yet despite this the group decide to play their own game of football while the food is in the oven. Tension and conflict continue to build during the game until their issues are resolved once the group finally sits down for their Thanksgiving dinner. Throughout this episode there are 2 main ways that rhetorical work is being done, one of them is the use of food and the other one being football.

Football is being used as a means to create tension between the group, cause arguments and separate them. Meanwhile food is being used as a way to bring the group back together.

In this episode of Friends, food is being used to show the symbolic act of appealing to the ethos of the group, giving them a sense of community and friendship.

Before looking at how food is being used to bring the group together, let’s examine how they were being separated and how it connects with the food. In this episode there is a clear separation of gender and what stereotypical roles that these

genders are serving in the story. The women are in charge of cooking and preparing all of the food as a typical archetype of women, who are often expected to be caring housewives and take good care of the men. Meanwhile the men just sit around watching football on the television and relaxing while they wait for the food to be ready. In similar fashion they are fulfilling the manly men archetype that just expect to be taken care of, and even when offered the opportunity to help they all unanimously decline. This division between the two are taken a step further during the football game when the teams eventually become all the boys versus all of the girls, with Ross and Monica being the team captains. Ross and Monica are the prime subjects of the male versus female division. Monica is a great chef, and she is also hosting the Thanksgiving dinner for all of her friends in her homely apartment, meanwhile Ross is just there to watch football and eat some turkey. This competition between boys and girls goes much deeper than “being afraid [of] losing to a bunch of girls” (14:42). Although Monica may be only teasing Ross, it’s not about boys versus girls, it’s about what these two groups represent. In Kenneth Burke’s A Rhetoric of Motives he describes the identification of similarity between two groups as being essential to the work associated with rhetoric. Looking through the

lens of Burke’s definition we can see how the girls and they guys manage to create a sense of similarity between the groups in the end.

Now let’s take a closer look at how the show managed to create both the separation and a sense of similarity between the guys and the girls. This occurs through a tug of war like attitude from the characters attempting to establish similarities with the other group. The first case of this occurring is in the beginning of the episode when the guys are watching the football game on the television, and after Phoebe fails in getting them to help prepare the dinner she attempts to enter their world and watch the game with the guys. Although just as she sits down to watch the game reaches the halftime which causes all of the guys to get up off of the couch, inadvertently leaving Phoebe feeling left out and alienated from the guys.

Although her disappointment is short lived because she becomes ecstatic when Joey proposes that they go play their own game of football. Before their game begins Monica sets an egg timer as she declares that they have 28 minutes to play before she has to baste the turkey again (5:20). This egg timer serves as a reminder about the food for when the guys get distracted by their other typical male interests. Case in point, Chandler is disappointed by this food related limitation set on the football game and pushes against it by replying “wow just like in the pros.” Another distraction that grabs peaks the manly interests of Joey and Chandler is a Dutch woman who they begin fighting over as they both attempt to gain her companionship. Meanwhile Ross and Monica fight throughout the whole game because they are both blinded by their desire

to win the Gellar Cup, which is a football trophy from their childhood and a direct cause of the conflict between the characters. The only ones who couldn’t get over this conflict are Ross and Monica who are left outside fighting over the football until the end. However, all of the conflict is resolved at the end of the episodes when they are enjoying their Thanksgiving dinner.

In conclusion, food means so much more to humans than just sustainability of life. Just like football and Thanksgiving are a part of our culture, food is very much also a big part of our culture for a good reason. Food is not just a necessity to survive, it is an experience that we like to share with other people who we can identify similarities with, despite any of the differences that may be present. At the bare-bones food may be a substance that keeps us alive, but we use it as means to connect with other people so that we may be able to live and thrive together. Just like with this group of friends, food engages with the ethos in people while creating the sense of community within friends.

El Regalo que Sigue Dando There’s nothing in the world that compares to the joy of waking up to the delicious smell of eggs and bacon wafting through the house as the sun begins to peek out over the dark horizon.

Or even the homely warmth emanating from the kitchen as soft biscuits are heated to fluffy perfection in the oven. This can spark childhood memories in all of us because food will always be a reminder of the good times. Whether it be with family or friends, food is almost always at the heart of every gathering and event. Every holiday, birthday, breakfast and dinner.

Especially within Mexican and other Latino communities. Food is an important part of our culture. It is the gift that keeps on giving, or as my family would say: El regalo que sigue dando. The importance of food is not a foreign idea, clearly food is an essential part of everyone’s lives worldwide, but I want to explore its importance in my life and the role that it plays in the Latino community. There are very old traditions in Mexico where the men are supposed to be hard workers and the breadwinners of the household, meanwhile the women were expected to be housewives who look after the house and take care of the children. However, the biggest responsibility of a wife has been to cook all of the meals every day, breakfast and dinner. Although this may not be the most progressive

tradition, it is still very prominent in almost every Mexican household until this day, including mine. Growing up my father left early in the morning for work and wouldn't return until dinner was ready. My mother on the other hand has been cleaning houses for as long as I can remember. Somehow, she was also able to make breakfast and dinner almost every night, in addition to cleaning up our own house and taking care of me and my two mischievous brothers. For a long time I never understood how my mother had gotten to be such a great cook, until when I grew older and realized that as a young woman from Mexico she was conditioned for this by her family when she was growing up. From a young age the girls in Mexico are expected to help their mothers with all of their duties, everything from helping to take care of the other kids to being in the kitchen hechando tortillas de mano al comal. It’s like a family tradition that gets passed down from generation to generation. This is why my mother had always hoped to have a daughter in order to be able to pass on the tradition, but unfortunately she only had 3 boys. She thought the tradition might die out with her until my brother gave her a granddaughter named Melody 3 years ago and now the tradition can live on! Soon enough we may have a new face in the kitchen pressing tortillas flat and throwing them on the comal to help out my mother. None of my brothers or I ever really learned how to cook, and my father was never really much help in the kitchen. This always seemed strange to me because I am well aware that he knows how to cook, we worked as a chef for a couple of years and he even has dreams of opening up his own family restaurant, but I couldn’t name a single time that I saw him cook a meal to save my life. All of my

memories are always of either my mother cooking or all of my aunts cooking together at family parties. However, my fondest memories are of the food in Mexico.

I have always loved my mother’s cooking, and I always will, but there’s something about the food deep in the countryside of Mexico that just can’t be recreated. I have so many memories of the long 24 hour bus rides, sometimes even stretching as long as 36 hours, from South Austin all the way until Tejupilco de Hildago in Mexico. Countless hours spent looking out the window into the vast empty dessert just dreaming of the mouthwatering street tacos in the shops of Tejupilco. But deeper into the country and higher up the mountains of Mexico, where the police are non-existent and the cartel runs strong is where fondest memories lie. Cañadas de Nanchititla, the hometown of both of my parents as well as many more members of my maternal family. Life and culture is different in this little beautiful cartel run town. The culture here is far greater than any other place I have laid my eyes upon, this is not a perfect tourist attraction for you to spend your money.

Instead, it is a place that is bursting with life and culture where things are not pretty and life is not easy, but this is the real Mexico. This is the reality of many Mexicans, and it always feels like home every time I return. I wasn’t born there, and I wasn’t raised there, but it has always been my second home and every time I go back I am welcomed with open arms and it feels like I never left. In a world where technology has overtaken the majority of people’s lives, it is nice having a small pocket of the world that is still so relatively isolated that even COVID-19 has yet to discover it. I enjoy and cherish every second that I am

there, especially during my last visit in 2019 I remember there was a great feast in order to celebrate the marriage of one of my cousins. There were no phones, no WIFI, and no cell service to distract us. There were only family, good friends, and even better food to celebrate the good times. Everything was freshly grown, farmed and raised by the people in the town. There aren’t any meat markets in Cañadas, just animals and crops.

Before the feast began I remember the cow that was kept in the pen next to my abuelas house, she was chosen to be the one who would feed the family. Watching them tie the cow down and slice its throat open with a machete may have been vividly engraved in my mind, which would be enough to turn most people into vegans, but there are no vegans in Mexico. They do not have the luxury of choice, this is simply their way of life, but I will say that it is an unforgettably tasty way of life.

Watching my family all working together to make sure that the feast was a success is akin to a passenger watching an antique train powerfully chugging by him. So many different pieces who are fulfilling an endless number of unique tasks all working in tandem at the same time, as they inch closer and closer to their goal. The women working in the steaming hot kitchen, some rolling masa out as others carefully flip tortillas on the scorching hot comal that feels as if it could give you 3 degree burns just from standing near it. Meanwhile, the men casually stirring up a massive pot of meat over the lowly flame.

Plenty of jokes along with a very fruitful conversation as they occasionally take sips out of their malodourous styrofoam cups.

This is where I often found myself because as a boy I didn’t belong in the kitchen where I could be learning how to cook the amazing food that we would soon be feasting on. rd

Nonetheless I still remember it as if it was yesterday. So many of my uncles and cousins all wrapped around the table waiting for the ladies to serve us. So many wonderful smells and aromas surrounding us as we waited. Then, that first juicy bite out of the tacos as the perfectly seasoned meat comes out to dance with my tastebuds. I love these moments in Mexico but why is it that each of us only get to experience certain aspects, when we could all be enjoying it together as a whole.

Food is a great reason for family and friends to come together, but it can simultaneously be one of the things that also drives us apart. This is especially true in Mexico where the political culture is not as progressive as it is in the United States, and many age-old traditions can easily perpetuate many stereotypes and drive a wedge in our society. Why is it that women should be the ones who always have to prepare, cook and serve the food with only help from their daughters? If food is such a meaningful part of our culture, why is it that boys are frowned upon for wanting to take part and learn about it?

These social standards that are in place have a much larger impact than just the food that we eat and how it is prepared.

Many people aren’t aware of these consequences, but it is a reality that needs to be addressed.

Our culture is many things. It is beautiful, it is fruitful, and it is absolutely delicious. Although, it most definitely is not perfect.

It is like a two-faced coin that is lying ever so still on the stonecold concrete. The face that we can see is what brings our people life, it is the food that can bring us happiness and childhood memories like the chile cooking in the kitchen that

can singe the nostrils off of everyone in the house and choke us until the tears start to come out. However, the other side of the coin that is facing towards the ground are the consequences that we can’t see due to the beauty of our culture. Food cannot be such an essential and influential part of our culture without any negative effects, and those affects are very much as real as they are serious. Regardless, I love my culture, and I love food, which is why I want it to be the best that it can be. Everyone should always be able to cherish the gift that keeps on giving without any consequences.Â

Virginia’s Chicken Vegetable Soup Ingredient water

Amount 12 cups

shredded white meat chicken breast

2 lbs

corn

3 ears

Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2 in. pieces

2

carrots, large, cut into 1/4 rounds

3

salt and pepper sauce Diced roman tomatoes

4

chipotle peppers

3

Instructions: 1. In a large pot bring the water to boil, then add in the tomatoes and chipotle peppers 2. Add in the corn, potatoes and the carrots 3. Reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender for about 13-15 minutes 4. Stir in the shredded chicken and season with salt and pepper 5. Cook until the chicken is ready for about 1-2 minutes

Chef Virginia and her son up in the mountains of Mexico.